2013 in review - October

In October I had the pleasure to be invited to take part at an event run by Sally Evans in the Plant Centre at Waddesdon Manor.

One of my crafty chums, Nicky Bibby of Bee Bee Crafts was also taking part and we were lucky enough to get our request for tables next to each other granted. The Plant Centre is a huge glass house and, with the sun shining, was surprisingly warm inside. In fact I had to take my shoes and socks off to set up - and re-think my wardrobe for the weekend!

On the Saturday afternoon I was joined by my crafty chum Stephanie Moffat who helped me man the stand - and gave me the chance to go and see all the lovely arts and crafts on offer (as well as being able to sit and eat cake without the fear of having to speak to someone as soon as I took a mouthful!)

Nicky making the finishing touches to her lovely stand:

Part of my stand:

Nicky and my chum Steph:

On the Sunday Cath Friend from Emerald Frames popped in with her Dad Michael Friend. It was great to meet Michael as Cath had commissioned me to produce a picture of her Dad on his beloved recumbent trike last Xmas. Michael is a 'local icon', well known for riding up and down the prom on the Wirral.

This picture was a fun commission to work on and the brief included the following items:

Michael on his recumbent trike

Tug boat

Chocolate

Reference to the 'Biggest Friend'

Reference to 'Meols'

Reference to 'The Wirral Way'

Reference to the 'The Wirral Community Canal Boat Trust'

Michael Friend and a small version of his picture from my portfolio book - followed by some more detailed shots of the original work:

A great bonus of doing events like these is that you get to meet new people and see work and techniques that fire up the imagination. To finish this post I would like to mention just two:

Displayed on one of the stalls opposite me was a fabulous silver necklace that had silver bird shapes, chain, silver rings and shells and a blue 'element' with a bird on that from my stand was difficult to work out what it was. On closer inspection the 'blue' was a dolls ear that had been flocked and set in silver - and represented the 'sound of the sea'. It was a stunning and original piece produced by a recently graduated artist called Robyn Golding

Robyn likes to repurpose and recycle old silver and broken doll parts - into truly original jewellery - and I just adore my seagull earrings!

You can see more examples of Robyn's unique work on her website:

http://www.robyngoldingjewellery.co.uk

Robyn and a couple of flocked dolls feet:

I also found a kindred spirit in Jo Atherton who repurposes flotsam into magical woven designs. I thought I was the only person who filled my pockets with such 'treasure' when at the seaside - but Jo had a stash of flotsam to die for!

Jo kindly sorted me out a small bag of mixed flotsam - including some amazing (and rare) fluorescent plastic threads that I have certainly not found to date, to incorporate in my work. I have used some in my most recent Aldeburgh pictures - along with flotsam from Suffolk too.

Jo - I have not forgotten that I am due to send you a bag of flotsam in the post in return . . . watch out for the postie!

You can learn more about Jo's environmentally friendly work and see examples of completed weavings on her website:

July

At the start of July I was contacted by Nick Brookman who had seen my Bucks Open Studios work at Emerald and was keen to discuss a commission to celebrate an upcoming 'significant' birthday. Nick knew that he wanted the picture to include images of him and his wife Freya dancing and, as we chatted, I explained to Nick that the way that I work lends itself to incorporating other personal imagery too - giving Nick some food for thought.

I like to work from my photographs and also to visit the location for the artwork so that I can get a feel for the place and sketch out composition ideas to complement the photos. On a sunny Saturday I drove over to the Brookman's and the fun began!

Nick and Freya had thought long and hard about the picture that they wanted and had come up with a really interesting list that we discussed over a cup of tea:

three images of them dancing

canalside location

willow trees

map of Regents Park Open Air Theatre

map of Spittlefields Market

map of the Everyman Cinema in Hampstead

lyrics from songs by Pink Martini

words from a poem read out at their wedding

two corduroy dogs

colourful quilt handmade by Freya

'happiness' tube sign

images of the Brookman's home

A well thought out imagery list really helps to define the brief and enables a truly personal story to be told in the finished work - and this list was an absolute treat to work to!

We headed out down to the canal and I took lots of photos and did some sketches. I provided the Brookman's with six composition ideas and once the favourite was chosen I got busy playing with my paper, scissors and glue.

Some of the elements on the picture were very fiddly to produce - such as the railings, but by the end I was really happy with the result and that I managed to incorporate all bar the last element on the list.

And the best news - Nick was just delighted with the finished work too!

An 'action shot' under the willows by the canal:

The chosen composition:

Nick and Freya dancing on my studio (kitchen) table:

Constructing the extremely fiddly railings - the willow branches in the background are the colours of Freya's handmade quilt rather than the natural green:

The corduroy dogs waiting to find a home on the picture:

Starting to put all the elements together:

Nick and his finished picture ready to mount and frame.

Thankyou Nick and Freya for giving me such a GREAT brief to work from - I loved making this picture for you and hope that you enjoy this for many years' to come!

June - MACS Annual Exhibition

Marlow Art and Crafts Society held their Annual Exhibition at the Church Hall in Marlow from the 25 May to the 2 June.

We set up on the Friday evening and it is always exciting to see the new work of our members - and that of guest exhibitors as it comes through the door. One of the great things about MACS is that anyone in the club can enter work, whether they having been doing art for a year - or many years and it is great to see peoples work styles an confidence grow year on year. The pictures get moved around a bit as new ones arrive - but the finished result is always a balanced display.

This year we had to erect more screens to accommodate all of the work which was great!

I exhibited a couple of Henley Royal Regatta pictures. One of which, the Thames Challenge Cup was awarded the runner up prize for the 'favourite picture' as voted for by visitors to the exhibition which was a real honour.

June - Bucks Open Studios at Emerald

I took a couple of days' off of work to help Cath with the set up of Bucks Open Studios at Emerald Framing and Gallery. When I arrived Cath was looking at the state of some of the walls and in a mad moment we decided that we just had to paint them before we displayed all the lovely work.

After a quick trip back to Marlow to pick up paint and my trusty painting gear we set to work - and what a difference a fresh coat of paint made - the works just shone!

Talking of differences, this year I asked Cath to professionally frame my pictures and was blown away with with the results - this was the first time I had seen my new work mounted and framed - no going back to Ikea frames now . . .

Note: Cath kindly reframed the others for me so they all look the same now!

May - Collective Art in Marlow

The 17 - 19 May marked the first Collective Art in Marlow event of the year. I was really happy to be invited to take part again and spent a lovely weekend at the Pugin Rooms with some fabulous artists and makers.

At this event we held four workshop sessions giving visitors a chance to try their hands at working with glass, copper, mosaic and felt.

Nicky Bibby's (Bee Bee Crafts) felt workshop:

Oenone Randall's copper workshop:

Julia Hayward's glass workshop:

Teresa Mills' mosaic workshop:

May - Frogmoor Paper Mill

On the 20 May Marlow Art and Crafts Society held a trip to Frogmoor Paper Mill in Hemel Hempstead. The mill is located next to the River Gade which connects to the canal system - once providing a 'speedy' transport link to get the paper to London for the print industry.

We had a tour of the paper mill - and to see paper being produced from a watery slush of fibres was just fascinating. After a lunch of fish and chips we had a short boat trip on the River Gade.

This was well worth taking a day off work for!

Having a go at making paper by hand:

The vats full of paper fibres and water:

The paper being set and dried and rolled within the space of a few meters - just like you've seen on Blue Peter!

Author

My name's Jacqueline and I invite you to join me on my adventure in mixed media 'arting and crafting'.I craft from my kitchen table at my home in Marlow-on-Thames in Buckinghamshire in England and want to use this blog to share my latest ideas and work.If something you have seen inspires you to have a go please do share the result with me.